In you and I

There's a new land

Angels in flight

wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I

My sanctuary

My sanctuary, yeah

Where fears and lies melt away

Music will tie

wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I

What's left of me

What's left of me now...

"Where am I...?"

Eyes matching the sun's flaming gold brilliance gazed out into the distance. Sleepily, they studied the sky and its numberless clouds. Building up in the distance were towers of white, rumbling thunderheads. The lightning flashing within them was magnificent, but the storm was slowly approaching. It appeared ruthless.

A girl standing ankle-deep in shallow water watched it with great interest, though her half-lidded stare seemed mostly empty. The crystal clear water caught her attention when a ripple effect ran through at random points hundreds of feet ahead. She nearly missed it. Perfectly, the sky reflected in the water. It expertly masked the unseen mysteries lying beneath the surface. The girl curled her toes to feel a flat ground, but her eyes only saw the expanding clouds.

She blinked once and furrowed her brows together. "I know this place..."

Suddenly and without explanation, her body fell weak and eyes slid shut. Droplets of water shot up into the air as she crashed into the liquid wasteland. Ripples remained where she had fallen, soon flattening out with the rest of the sea as if nothing had ever happened. No one to see the girl sinking into a deep, dark abyss.

'I can hear someone talking... to me? No. To someone else.' Stirring awake again, the girl peeked her eyes open to see a swirling mass of darkness surrounding her. Shining water bubbles rose back to the surface she had fallen through, but she could only see a strong beam of light shining down from that point. No more could she admire the crystalline sea and sky. It was in the midst of that darkness where a voice echoed from some unknown point. She could hear it clearly.

"A scattered dream that's like a far off memory..." the voice began in a low whisper. The girl's eyes closed once as her ears welcomed in the familiar tone. "...A far off memory that's like a scattered dream... I wanna line the pieces up... yours, and mine..."

'That voice sounds like someone I know...' The girl thought to herself for a moment, still descending into the darkness. She couldn't explain it, but there was something about that mysterious presence somewhere in the dark. A warmth burning to life in her chest, it was welcoming. But no answer to the questions arising.

Further along in her descent, very soon after the voice was gone for good, her eyes witnessed a dramatic flash of light similar to an explosion. It was far away, so she was not affected by it. But, the light grew and grew until she was blanketed by blinding rays. Shifting to an upright position, she shielded her eyes and gasped in surprise. The strange light eventually dimmed down to a reasonable level, until she was able to see without having much difficulty.

There it was. A single orb of light floating right in front of her. It came closer, almost close enough for her to reach out and touch. She refrained from doing so. For some reason, it didn't seem like a very good idea. Rather, the girl watched and waited.

"The time has come... No more waiting around. Are you ready?"

Subconsciously, the girl nodded her head to the orb of light. She didn't understand what it meant, although that was her mind's thinking. There was a warm tingling in her chest. Whatever she was agreeing to, it seemed to be the right thing to do. It was like she knew she had to do it.

The orb moved away from her and shot a single ray of light through the darkness. Amazed by the sight of it, the girl's mouth cracked open to let out a breath of surprise and wonder. A transparent screen appeared as the ray faded, and in the middle of it was a keyhole that shined just as radiantly. Its presence before her rang a bell, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Do not let fear stop you. You will open the door to a whole new world. Never forget your purpose, your talents."

Both of the girl's feet tapped down on solid ground, though it still seemed to be nothing but darkness. She stepped closer to the keyhole until a certain point, where she raised her hand up to reach for it. Eyes sparkling with desire, she let her heart call out for the ability to unseal the keyhole. An answer came in the manifestation of tangible power in the palm of her left hand. It flashed as a light, which dispersed immediately to reveal a peculiar tool in her grasp.

A blade of sorts resembling a giant key. The main body of it was a rich gold, and the guard a smooth silver. There was no mistaking the feel of it. She could tell that this "sword" was nothing ordinary. It had the feel of darkness- endless darkness. Yet, in that instant when she examined it closely, with both eyes and heart, she could see the ounce of light coursing through the unusual blade. So it was not all darkness. There was still a shard of light within it.

"You understand what it is. Use it to move forward, if you truly know. Connect your heart..."

Holding both the blade and hilt in her hands, the girl looked up at the keyhole with a stern gaze. Her lips pursed as she considered what to do with it, then it became clear. She let go of the tension building up in her jaw and nodded her head. "The Keyblade... I know exactly what to do with it."

Undeterred, the girl aimed the tip of the Keyblade at the keyhole and shot a beam of light into it. A sharp sound echoed, like a door had just been unlocked. As a result of her actions, the keyhole broke away into oblivion, and the screen cracked. She watched the cracks spread across the wall as rays of light poured out from them. Something was about to burst through. Her body wasn't moving in spite of her urges for it to do so. Then it broke free- the light from the other side. She was enveloped by it and pulled through.

"This journey is yours to do alone. Find your way through, and do not falter. He is relying on you."

At the dead of night, a group of four teenagers stealthily jogged through the sleeping town. There was no one to catch them in their act of sneaking about, save for the small animals lurking around the street corners. Three of them slipped through a sizable hole in a concrete wall separating the town from the woods, and the fourth stayed behind for a minute to see if anyone was following. He followed them inside as soon as the coast was clear.

"I thought you said it came from over here," said one of the boys. They all walked along a single path running through the woods. Being sure that no one had followed them, the teens slowed their pace to a comfortable stride. "This place is giving me the creeps."

"That weird light definitely came from around those trees..." another boy whispered quietly, pointing down the path at a group of large trees. "Ah. There!"

Four pairs of eyes caught sight of a shimmering light coming from behind the nearby bushes. None of them dared to approach it, having been stunned by the rush of excitement they felt, except for one boy who felt compelled to investigate. He shoved passed the leader of the group and pushed through the leaved twigs to see what was on the other side. But when he did see it, he froze in place and fell to one knee.

"Huh?" the blonde-haired youth's lips parted. Confusion fogged his mind as he tried to make sense of things. "A... girl?"

The light had faded away when he found the mysterious girl slumped against one of the trees. Many questions flooded his mind as he checked her for injuries. She didn't appear to be hurt, but she was unconscious. "Oi! Hayner, Pence, Olette! Get over here!"

"On our way, Roxas!" One of them called back; the boy assumed it to be Hayner, the self-proclaimed boss of their group.

In the meantime, Roxas tried to wake the girl up from her sleep. She didn't stir when he shook her by the shoulders. Poking her cheeks didn't get a reaction either. He sighed and sat down on his bottom. Nothing was working. And, what was taking his friends so long to get there? Mumbling something under his breath, Roxas relaxed some and picked the girl up in his arms to carry her out of there.

"Sorry, but I don't think this is a good place to sleep," he said to her despite the fact that she was not responding to his voice. Taking care not to let the sharp twigs scratch her, Roxas met up with his friends to show them what- or who- he found. "Guys."

"Is she okay?" Olette asked him, rushing over to his side to check on the unconscious girl.

"Oh, it's a girl!" Hayner joked. "So, what about that light we saw?"

Pence peered through the bushes, where Roxas came from, but turned back with a disappointed look. He shrugged his shoulders and rejoined the group. "Looks like there's nothing back there. Guess that lead was no good."

"Uh... she's kinda heavy," Roxas cringed. "I'm putting her down."

"That's rude..."

"Wow, so mean, Roxas."

"E-Er, sorry!"

He placed the girl on a soft patch of grass and knelt down beside her with a caring hand resting on her forehead. Although this was nothing he was expecting, the blue-eyed youth was glad that nothing bad happened. This new face was in decent shape and breathing normally. Most likely, she wandered into the woods and fell asleep at some point. But what a deep sleep she was in. What a sleepyhead, he thought.

They were all quietly surrounding the girl as she slept, admiring her unique appearance. Roxas found himself playing with a strand of her hair. It had him so intrigued, he found it hard not to get a closer look.

"White hair," he whispered. This was the first time he saw anyone with hair as white as hers. Some twigs were pulled out from her short locks. Not wanting to potentially bother her, he stopped and rested his hand on his knee. Roxas fell quiet and studied the girl's face. "I feel like I know her from somewhere."

A moment later, what he was hoping for happened. The mystery girl let out a sigh and finally opened her eyes. Roxas was taken back by the amber-colored orbs so much that he let his mouth hang open slightly. She groaned softly and pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead.

"Where... am I...?" she said in a low, hard to hear tone. Her eyes were squinted as she gazed at the ground. "...Who am I?"

"She's awake!" Hayner announced. "Boy, that's good to see. Case closed, I guess. Now let's head home and get some sleep."

"Hayner..." Olette folded her arms.

"Ugh, right." Rolling his head, Hayner crouched down in front of the awakened teen and grinned. "So, what's your name?"

"My name...?" the girl shook her head slowly. "I can't remember."

They were all stumped. A case of amnesia? This was the first time they met someone who couldn't even remember their own name. No memory of her address, either. It was a predicament that none of them were very comfortable with.

"We can't just leave her out here," Olette said.

"Yeah, some bad guy might come in and kidnap her," Pence added.

"Then, what should we do?" Roxas asked the circle.

"How about we let her stay at the usual spot?" Hayner suggested, but no one agreed to it. "Well, got any room at your place, Olette?"

The brunette girl shook her head. "Sorry."

"Same..."

"Oh, I have an extra space," Roxas chimed in with a kind smile. "She can stay there until her memory comes back."

"That settles it!" Hayner grinned. "Thanks, buddy."

Helping her up to her feet, Roxas led the girl out of the woods and into town. The next day turned out to be troubling, because the nameless girl's memory never did return. The four friends showed her around town in hopes of finding her home, but it was a failed attempt at getting her memory back. Roxas's home became her home for the time being, but he was glad to be of help.

A couple days later...

"Tricia."

"Rebecca."

"Cindy."

"Natasha."

"Elizabeth."

"Lulu."

"Uh... Flora?"

Off the top of his head, Hayner listed off all the names that he could think of. It went on for a full hour with no success. All of the names he brought up to their amnesiac friend often resulted in everyone cringing. He was about ready to give up. Nothing sounded familiar to her at all. An air of frustration filled the Usual Spot, their favorite hangout place. The five of them sat around and ate bars of sea-salt ice cream, passing the time with guessing games until Hayner had enough of it.

"Aww, I've got nothing!" Hayner blurted, slumping back against the wall. "All know about her is that she likes ice cream. What good is that?"

"Means she fits in just fine, I'd say." Pence licked his ice cream bar and nodded vigorously, and Olette nodded in agreement. "If we can't figure out her name, why don't we just give her one?"

"How about-"

"There are lots of good names out there," Olette cut Hayner off. "But, what comes to your mind?"

All eyes were on the amnesiac as she thought about the question. It made her a little nervous, but she tried to think of something. A name. All she had to do was think of a name for herself. But the only thing that came to mind was... "Igni."

"Igni?" Roxas repeated, and she nodded. "That's different. Where did that come from?"

"Don't know," she said, biting a chunk out of her ice cream. "It just popped into my head. Any better ideas?"

"I've got on-"

"Nope!" Pence cut in, butting Hayner out of the conversation. "Igni is a great name!"

"Igni." Roxas said the name again, standing up from the box he was sitting on. He smiled softly at her and nodded. "Nice to meet you."